Gareth K Vile looks at an intriguing combination of film and live music.
Against the serious attention to detail of Alex Smoke’s score for Faust, 65DaysofStatic come up short with their “rescore” of Silent Running. While the band deserve kudos for finding ways around the traditional gig format, there are two moments of sheer brilliance – a storm in outer-space and the end credits – lodged between post-rock noodling, unnecessary bursts of melodramatic noise and pounding drums. It isn’t that the music itself is bad. The band, however, fail to engage with the texture of the film, a point pushed home by the poor quality of the screen projections. Silent Running is a naive science fiction morality tale: when the conservationism realises that the plants need sunlight, it is supposed to be a profound revelation. Its tone is contemplative, and self-important. 65DaysofStatic manage to capture only the self-importance.
The rescore removes more from the film than it offers. The flimsy plot is sometimes lost, as are crucial moments of dialogue. The outer space sequences, originally conceived as self-conscious reflections on the vastness of the universe, are an excuse for the band to rock out: they seem uncomfortable in the quieter moments, longing for the chance to scrabble at guitar strings and pound on the skins. Their musical range is limited: this was a strength in their collaboration with dancer Jean Abreu. Over Silent Running, it is cruelly exposed.
What makes this most disappointing is those two moments of brilliance. Like many bands in the post-rock genre, they can evoke explosive, almost mystical excitement. And the drama of their harsh, electronic squalls is thrilling and evocative of expansive thought and places. By trying to avoid the traditional gig format, they have lost only the informality: the film is placed at the service of a classic rock egotism. It isn’t as if Silent Running is a great film: but it is worth a respect that the band fail to show it.
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